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Started sl 5x5 at 212lbs of bodyweight, around 2000 kcals per day. I'm 18 sessions in, 12lbs down, but i dont feel any leaner. Possible muscle loss? I had a 1RM bp of 300 before the program, I struggled to get 275 after my last workout. I've since decided to increase kcals, but keep it clean, as follows

Breakfast 5am

3 eggs, 1 cup of mixed veggies, 1 whole orange

Snack 8am

1 cup ff cottage cheese, 1 large apple

Lunch 11am

1 skinless boneless chicken breast, 1 cup of romaine

1 tbsp olive oil

Snack 1pm

1 serving mixed nuts

Pre workout 3pm

1 can tuna, apple

Workout 4pm

sl 5x5

Post workout 6pm

8oz ground beef 93/7, quinoa, mixed veggies, banana

Dinner 8pm

chicken, spinach, carrots, pear

Pre bed 10pm

ff cottage cheese, berries, flaxseed

I'm hoping this will rid me of feeling like i've weakened in the gym since starting sl, i gain fat easily and hate cardio, so i limit carbs. Any insight would be appreciated.

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SL is a novice program. Stop trying to do a novice program on a calorie deficit when you're not a novice lifter. The only time that works is if you are trying to rebuild lost strength due to layoff or injury or something like that. How long have you been lifting before you tried to do SL?

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First program to lift without supplementation. Usually creatine, nitric oxide. Seeing how strong I get before I have to deload. Madcow or Texas routine from there. Is 3000 a deficit? Here's today's macros.

2835 cals

130g fat

160g carbs

261g protein

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Guest Robernaut

Guest Robernaut

I should have though 2835 kcals is going to be around maintenance for you, if you are a 200lb lifter. Do you know what your maintenance is? What is your target weight? What is your current body fat? What body fat would you like to get to?

How do you feel on this diet (the one you have outlined above)? Do you feel strong, do you feel like you have energy? How do you feel when you consume more carbs, stronger or weaker?

Forgetting dieting a second - in normal day to day life - when you eat carbs in relatively large quantities do you feel lethargic or do you have more energy or just feel the same? What is your normal diet like?

How long have you been running the diet? Have you been running it at 2000 kcals a day (if not what)? What was your macro set up for that? How much weight have you dropped since starting your cut? Have you had a carb re-feed or a maintenance break at all since starting your diet?

I don't see any reason why you cannot do 5x5 when you are running a deficit, if that's what you want to do. It's probably not a bad choice in my opinion, because it's moderate intensity / moderate volume. So you are in a great position to tweak from there. Do you know from your training history whether you respond better to volume or intensity?

If you can answer those, I should be able to give you something approaching a helpful answer

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Took a month off, went from 230 to 212 just eating when I was hungry, fast food, home cooked meals, but with moderation. In the month I didn't watch my cals, I dropped to 212 (I was supplementing while bulking so I assumed a lot of this was water weight). April I started watching cals, 2000-2200 daily, macros were 40/30/30 c/p/f. In the six weeks I've been on stronglifts I've went from 212 to 198. These 2200 cals were net cals though, I usually ate what I lost in exercise. So on training days I ate around 28-3000. In 6 weeks I don't feel any stronger, just the same as when I started. I had a 300 1rm bp, now I struggle to get 285. My current bf is around 18%. I want to be at 10%, but weigh around 215-220.

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Guest Robernaut

Guest Robernaut

It's difficult to give you a decent response based on your answers, and I am not sure how you are working out your macros / daily calories.

Dropping 14 lbs in six weeks is a fair bit of weight to lose. It's not surprising that you lost strength, though this could be entirely hormonal or due to glycogen depletion and not loss of muscle. Also, if you have dropped carbs out of the equation which you appear to have done significantly, and your body has no issue with carbs or responds well to carbs, then that could also be another reason for the drop in performance.

I think having a week off dieting at maintenance followed by a less aggressive cut with more carbs would be better for trying to maintain strength.

This is worth watching about your body fat set point and your goal of 10%. If your main goal is strength and not aesthetics, something closer to 15% maybe more realistic...